Bead machine



Aug. 7, 1951 M. c. MEYER ET AL BEAD MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug.11, 1948 I NV E N TOR. M4 X/M/L mm 6' Maya? STHNLEY WECl/SLEI? Aug. 7,1951 M. CVMEYER ETAL BEAD MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 11, 1948Aug. 7, 1951 Filed Aug. 11, 1948 M. C. MEYER ET AL BEAD MACHINE 4Sheets-Sheet 3 [mmllll Patented 7 BEAD MACHINE Maximilian 0. Meyer andStanley Wechller, Brooklyn, N. 2.; said Wechsler assignoi' to said MeyerApplication August 11, 1948, Serial No. 43,568

2 Claims.

1 This invention relates to a machine for making 1 beads fromcongealable or hardenable liquid material; more particularly it relatesto a machine for automatically depositing a series of globules of moltenmaterial suitable for the formation of beads onto a wire.

An object of this invention is to provide a machine for automaticallydepositing a series of globules of congealable liquid material onto awire.

Another object of the invention i to provide a machine for forming beadsfrom molten material in which the beads are substantially spherical.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine for forming aseries of beads on a wire which are substantially uniform in size.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine for depositing aseries of globules of molten material on a wire in which the globulesare of substantially uniform size, which size, however, can bepredetermined.

These and other objects ancillary thereto are obtained by providing amachine which rotates a wire about its axis while intermittently movingthe wire through a globule of a viscous mass of head forming material,for example, molten glass. Preferably the wire is moved upwardly intothe globule. is caused to dwell in the globule of bead forming materialmomentarily and is then moved vertically away from the viscous gob ofhead forming material. The wire is caused to dwell for a short time inthe molten gob so as to pick up a 'globule of the viscous mass. the wireabout its axis causes the deposited material thereon to distributeitself about and harden into a spherical ball substantially uniformlydistributed about the axis of the wire. After the wire is moved awayfrom the viscous gob it is then moved forward axially so that on thenext upward movement of the wire, a different part of the wire is movedinto the viscous gob.

The material which is employed for forming the beads may be anythermoplastic material such as glass, thermoplastic resinous material ormetals. Examples of resinous materials are the acrylic resins such asmetlwl methacrylate; the thermoplastic polyamide compounds; phenolformaldehyde resins in their thermoplastic state; alkyd resins; vinylresins such as polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, etc.,and copolymers of these materials; thermoplastic cellulose derivativessuch as cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate butyrate. ethyl cellulose,etc.; polyvinylidene chloride polymers, etc.

The head material may also be a thick viscous solution of a resin orcellulose derivative in a rela- The rotation of tively small amount ofsolvent, sov that the head is hardened when the solvent evaporates.

Thermosetting resins such as phenol aldehyde, urea aldehyde, melaminealdehyde and alkyd resins may also be employed and after the resin isdeposited on the wire in its thermoplastic or its dissolved state, thehead can then be hardened in a curing chamber.

The wire or core material employed may be of copper, bronze, steel. orother metal or alloy and it preferably has a round cross-section but itcan have a polygonal cross-section to produce bead holes of differentshapes. Preferably the wire has about the same temperature coefllcientof expansion as the bead forming material and it is also soluble inacids or similar liquid so that the wire can be removed from the beadsby dissolving.

The novel features characteristic of this invention are set forth withparticularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, asto its organization, together with additional objects and advantagesthereof, will best be understood from the following description ofspecific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of the machine of the invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the machine taken along lined-2 of Figure3.

Figure 3 is a view of the machine taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is adetail view illustrating the various positions of the wireat equally spaced periods of time in its movement. v

Figure 5 is a detail view showing the rod holding and feeding means.

Figure 6 is a detail view showing the wire holding forwarding androtating means.

Figure 7 is a detail view of a part of the wire forwarding mechanismtaken on line ll of Figure 1.

The frame 50 and all the other essential struc-- ture of the machine isshown as supported from a stationary table 30. This table contains aslot 3! in which the leg it at the end of the frame II is adapted toslide. A sleeve 32 having an internal longitudinal bearing surface inwhich the shaft 52 is adapted to slide is attached to the table near thecenter part thereof. The shaft 52 is attached at one end to the frame 50a shown at 53 and at its other end contains a cam whichis shown as theroller 54 rotatably mounted in the U-shaped end 55 of the shaft 52 bymeans of. the axle 56.

In order to make a machine which ntii'ely exact line of movement is notesential.

automatic and-which is adapted to deposit spherical beads symmetricallyupon a wire, it is necessary to give the wire a combination of motions,i. e., the wire must be rotated about its axis to cause the head to bedeposited symmetrically about the wire, the wire must be moved into andout of contact with a liquid gob of the bead forming material and thewire must be moved parallel to the axis periodically to present the nextposition upon which to deposit the bead formhis material.

Attached to the underside of the table 30, are two bearing containingelements 38 and 34, supporting the bearings I6 and H. A shaft 20,rotatable in the bearings I6 and 11 contains the various control means,i. e. (1) the means for moving the frame 50 into line with the beadforming globule, (2) the means for moving the wire parallel to its axiswhen the wire is remote from the supply of bead forming material, and(3) the means for feeding the bead forming material as it is used upinto the path of the wire.

The shaft 20 is rotated by any suitable driving means such as by thechain 2| and sprocket wheel 22. Attached to the shaft is a collar 23containing a cam wheel 24. As the shaft 26 is rotated, the surface ofthe cam wheel 24 presses against the cam following roller 54 forcing theframe 50 upwardly and permitting the return of the frame 58 to itslowermost position. A spring may be attached between the frame 58 andthe table 30 to assure that the cam follower 54 is pressed against thesurface of the cam 24 at all times.

An idea of the type of movement desired in the frame may be obtainedfrom Figure 4. This figure shows the position of the wire I5 held by theframe 50 at successive units of time in one complete cycle. The entirecycle for one size of bead, for example, may be about two seconds. Thetime required for the frame 50 and wire I5 then to travel between anytwo consecutive members (from -12 in Figure 4) would be approximately asixth of a second. The upward and downward movements of the wire havebeen separated laterally in Figure 4 to avoid confusion. Although thewire moves upward and downward substantially vertically in the machineshown this The essential requirements are that the wire be moved guicklyinto the gob of bead forming material,

bepermitted to dwell in the gob for a relatively long part of the cycleand then be quicklyremoved. As shown in Figure 4 the wire from position3 to position 9 or about /2 of the entire cycle is adjacent to or withinthe gob of bead forming material.

The means which provides for the movement of the wire I into and out ofthe plastic or liquid bead forming material and the proper dwell of thewire while in contact with the gob of liquid is a most important featureof the present invention. For example, with this part of the apparatusalone it is possible for an unskilled workbean to make beads as theother required move- .ments of the wire can be done by the hand of anunskilled operator. Thus, in order to make beads by an apparatus whichcontains only the means for moving the frame 50 into and out of the gobof head forming materials, it is necessary for the operator to push thewire forward after or during eachdownward movement, to

rotate the wire and to adjust the rod or other means for supplying theliquid globule of bead forming material.

It is preferred however to make the machine substantially completelyautomatic andto that Means for holding and rotating the wire The meansfor holding and rotating the wire are best shown in Figures 1 and 6.Extending upwardly from the right hand side of the frame 50 as shown inFigure 1 are the two brackets 60 and BI containing bearing surfaces 62and 63 (see Figure 6). Tubular member 64 is rotatably mounted in thebearings 62 and 63 and is adapted to be rotated by some suitable meanssuch as the chain and sprocket wheel device 85 (see Figure 1. omittedfrom Figure 6). The forward end of the tubular member 64 is flanged asshown at 66 and this flanged end 66 is held against the outer edge ofbearing surface 62 by the nut 61 which is locked in place on thethreaded portion of the member 64 by the lock screw 68. The opening atthe center portion of the flanged end 66 of the tubular member '64 isflared outwardly as shown at 69 (see Figure 6). Slidable within theorifice extending through the member 64 are two complementary wireholding grippers I0 and II. These grippers are slotted at 12, 73 so thatwhen they are held together they substantially surround the wire I5. VNormally however the gripping members 10 and II tend to separate at theends to release the wire I5. The outer edge portions of the gripperelements "IO and II are flanged as shown at I4 and "I5 so that when theyare pulled to the right as shown in Figure 6 they are forced together totightly grip the wire between them. Although two gripping members aresufficient, it is obvious that three or more such members can beemployed and that the three or more members will operate insubstantially the same way as the two complementary members 10 and 'II.One or both of the gripping members I0, lI contains a slot I6 thereininto which the key 11 from the tubular member 64 'is adapted to extendso that the gripping members are forced to rotate with the tubularmember 64.

The grippin members I0 and ll are united at the rear end and containexterior threads 8| to which is attached the other tubular member 82which extends through and beyond the end of the tubular member 64.Adjacent the end of member 82 is a shoulder 83 to which is attached abearing surface 84. Surrounding the right hand end (as shown in Figure6) of tubular member 64 is a sleeve member 85 which is keyed in the slot86 of the tubular member 64 by means of the screw controlled key 81 inthe threaded opening 88.

The end of the tubular member 64 slopes away from the center as shown at89. Between the sloping end 89 of member 64 and the flange surface 84 ofthe holding tube 82 a number of steel balls 90, 9| are located. Theseballs are held in place by the annular opening 92 in the right hand endof the sleeve 85. The annular opening 92, the diameter of the steelballs 96, 9| and the length and supports for the tubular member 64 areadjusted so that in the position shown in Figure 6, the sloped surface59 at the flanged end 68 of tubular member 64 holds the gripper membersIII, II tightly about the wire I5. The annular opening 92, however,increases in size at 94 and connects with the enlarged annular opening95. The member 85 also contains the annular groove 95 on the outsidethereof. If the member 85 is pushed foreward by a cam which fits ingroove 95 the balls 90, 9I will be permitted to move upwardly and to theleft (in Fi ure 6) along the slope 89 of tubular member 82. Thismovement of the balls 90. 9I upwardly and to the left permits thetubular holding member 52 and the attached gripping members 10, II tomove to the left thus releasing the grip on the wire I so that the wireis ready to be moved foreward to its next bead forming position. Thesleeve 85 is moved by the cams I00, IOI which fit into the annulargroove 95 and are moved transversely by means presently to'be described.

Wire forwarding means The means for moving the wire foreward in thedirection of its axis operates during the interval that the carriage 50and wire is in its lowermost position away from the supply of headforming material. As the carriage 50 and wire I5 move downwardly fromthe rod I08, the gripper means 10, H for holding and rotating the wireare caused to release their grip on the wire by movement of the sleeve85 to the left (in Figures 1 and 6). The movement of the sleeve 85 iscaused by the cams I00, IOI which slide in the annular groove 95 and areheld in yoke I45 which, in turn, is periodically moved to the left andreturned by mechanism to be described later.

When the hold of the gripper members 10, H on the wire I5 is releasedthe wire forewarding means begins to operate immediately. The

wire forewarding means is operated by a yoke I58 similar to yoke I45.The yoke I58 contains two cams I59 and I59, one at eachside thereofwhich slide in an annular groove 200 of a second sleeve member MI. (Thecams I58 and I59 Rod feeding means The structure provided for moving therod I08, the tip of which is melted or otherwise plasticized so that themolten tip is always at the apex of the path of the wire I5 as thislatter is moved by the carriage 50, is shown in Figures 2, 3 and 5. Therod is held in a substantially vertical position and moved in thedirection of its axis by means of two pair of grooved rollers or pulleysI05, I08 and I01, I08 (I05 and I01 being positively rotated and I05 andI58 being idler rollers). The table 30 holds a hollow upright standardor support I09 to which is bracketed a collar IIO, an extending portionIII of which contains two upright members H2 and Ill. Member II3 carriestwo bearings H4 and H5, through which the shafts H5 and H1 carrying thepulleys I01 and I05, respectively, pass. The ends 01' shafts H5 and H1opposite the ends containing pulleys I01 and I05 contain conical gearsH8 and H9. The gears III and H9 and thus .the pulleys ,I01 and I05 aredriven synchronously by means of the conical gears I20, I21 fixed to theshaft I22 which extends upwardly through the hollow standard I09.

The pulleys I05 and I08 are adiustably located a fixed distance from thecorresponding pulleys I05 and I01 so that they can be made to holddifferent sizes of rod material. As shown in Figures 2 and 5 thesepulleys I05 and I08 are held a in a bracket I23 which in turn isattached to a of yoke I58 as well as the cams I00 and IM of the yoke Iare long and rectangular in cross section so that they always remain inthe sides of the respective grooves 200 and 95 regardless of whether ornot the frame is in its uppermost or lowermost position.) side of sleeve20I is a laterally extending rod 202 which is adapted to slide in a slot204 contained in a flanged end 203 of the tubular member 82 so thatrotation of the member 82 will impart rotation to the sleeve member 20Iand at the same time permit longitudinal movement of the sleeve 20I withrespect to the member 82. Also attached to the sleeve 20I is the tube205 which extends from a point to the right of sleeve 20I. almost up toinside edge of the slots 12. 18 of grippers 10, H. The inner (or lefthand) end of tube 205 as shown in Figure 6, is split into two portions201-and 208 and the orifice is reduced at the ends 209, 2I0 so as tohold the wire with a spring grip. The tube has cut out portions as shownat 2 to increase the spring action of the split ends 201 and 208. Thegrip which the split ends 201 and 208 applies to the wire I5 issufflcient to move it forward when the grip of the laws 10, H isreleased. Therefore the sleeve 20I is adapted to be moved to the left bythe yoke I when the cams I00, IOI have released the grip of the elements10, H on the wire I5 and the sleeve MI is then moved back to positionfor the next movement of the wire only after the gripper elements 10, 1Ihave again been moved to hold the wire in its foreward position so thaton the return movement of sleeve 20I the split ends 201 and 208 slideback over the wire I5.

Attached to the bolt I24 which passes through brackets I25 and I25 whichextend from the member 3. Setting nuts I21 and I28 are provided oneither side of bracket I26 to hold the bolt I24 in the desired position.

\ The shaft I22 is given an intermittent motion by means of a ratchetmeans 220 which rotates the gear I30 which is attached to the shaft I22so as to rotate shaft I22 when moved in one direction but not when movedin the other direction. Where the bead forming material is deposited inits molten state, means must be provided for heating the tip of the rodor other bead forming material. Such a means is shown in Figure 2 wherea series of three gas jets from burners I8I, I32, and I38 are directedagainst the tip of the rod I08. Where the bead forming material isalready in a, plastic condition the rod I08 may be replaced by a hollowtube through which the plastic bead forming material is fed.

Driving means for the apparatus As heretofore stated the means forrotating the wire I5 is driven by means of the chain and sprocket wheel.The remainder of the moving partshowever are preferably driven from themain driving shaft 20 shown in the lower part of Figure 1. The cam 24for moving the carriage 50 has already been described. The shaft I1 alsohas attached thereto a cylinder I40 containing two cam grooves HI andI42.

Fixed to the table 30 is another bracket I48. At the foreward or lefthand end (as shown in Figure 1) of bracket I 43 the lever I 44 ispivoted as shown at I45. This lever includes the yoke I45 at its upperend and ayoke I41 at its lower end. The lever can be pivoted about thepoint I45 as the lower end is slidable in a slot formed in the table 30.The yoke I45 contains cams I00 and IOI which operate the wire grippingmeans. The yoke I41 contains one cam follower I40 which is slidable inthe cam groove HI and which operates to pivot the lever back and forthabout the fulcrum I45.

-Pivoted at I50 on bracket I43 is a second lever having a-lower arm I!and an upper arm I52. .The lower arm I5I contains a yoke I53 having acam follower I54 similar to the cam follower I43 but operating in grooveI42 of cylinder I40. This lever device is shown in detail in Figure 7.The lever I5I, I52 operates the wire forewarding means by moving theyoke containing arm I 55. The arm I52 has a. pin I55 integral therewithwhich extends through a slot I51 in arm I55. The arm I55 is alsopivotally attached to the bracket I43 at I50. The yoke I58 of arm I55contains cam surfaces I53 and I59 at either side thereof (similar toyoke I45). The projection I50 on bracket I43 holds one end of a springI5I the other end of which is attached at I52 to the arm I55 so as topull the arm I55 back to its rearward position (or to the right as shownin Figure l). The pin I55 operated by the lever I5I serves to push thearm I55 foreward against the action of the spring I6I. The amount of therearward motion of the arm I55 however is made adjustable by the setscrew I53 held in place in the projection I50 by the nut I54. The lengthof the stroke of the arm I55 is therefore adjustable by limiting theamount of its return movement so that the space between the beads on thewire I5 can be a iust d.

. The movement of the bead forming rod I03 is regulated and synchronizedwith the remainder of the operating parts by driving the racket wheelI30 from the main driving shaft 20. At the end of the main drive shaftis the rotor element 230 containing a dove-tail like slot extending allthe way across the same. Adapted to slidably flt into this slot is thedove tail insert 232, the end of which extends outwardly through a holein the angled arm 33 and is held by nut 233. Washers 234 and 235 holdthe arm 33 away from the rotor 230. The nut 233 is adapted to hold thedove-tail insert 232 in any position in the slot 23I so as to adjust thelength of the oscillation of the arm 33 on the rotation of the shaft 20.Attached to the upper end of the arm 33 is the racket bar 220. Theracket bar 220 is held in place against the racket wheel I by thebracket 235. The

' racket bar 220 therefore moves back and forth a predetermined distancewith each rotation of the shaft 20 and accordingly each time a head isformed on the wire I5. The distance of the back and forth movement isdetermined by the distance the dovetail insert 232 is held away from theaxis of the shaft 20.

The machine is operated as follows. A length of wire which is convenientto handle and long enough to hold a substantial number of beads (forexample about 100-200) is introduced into the tube 206 and pressed pastthe ends 209, 2I0 of the split spring pressed ends 201, 203 thereof. Thetwo chain driving mechanism 2I and 55 are put in motion and the wire isautomatically fed through the gripping members I0, 'II. As the wire I5passes to a position beneath the glass rod I03, the position of the saidglass rod I03 and the burners I3I, I32, I33 are adjusted. The apparatusthen continues to operate automatically. Each time the carriage 50 ismoved upwardly, the rotating wire I5 contacts the drop of molten glasson the end of the glass rod I03. As the wire I5 is moved away from therod I03, a blob adheres to the wire and takes a spherical form about the.wire. On the movement of the carriage downward the cam groove I ofcylinder I40 first causes the sleeve to move to the left to release thegrip of the Jaws I0, 'II and shortly thereafter the cam groove I42 ofcylinder I40 causes the wire to be moved foreward by the tube 205 withthe spring pressed holders 201, 200 through the opened grippers or Jaws10, II. The grippers I0, II then tighten about the wire and the tube 205is returned to the position shown in Figure 1. After passing the beadforming zone the wire may be passed into a tubular chamber 240 held bythe tube 2 attached to the carriage 50. The beads may be given anannealing or a heat treatment while in the chamber 240. v

The size of the bead formed depends on several factors among which are,(1) the nature, size and fluidity 0f bead forming material, (2) thespeed of rotation of the wire, (3) the speed of rotation of the drivepulley 55 or in other words the time that'frame 50 requires for onecycle, (4) the nature and size of the wire, (5) the time of dwell of thewire in the liquid beadforming material which depends partly on theshape of the cam 24 and partly on the rate of glass feed. Drive pulleys2| and 55 may, therefore, be driven independently although, if desired,the speedsthereof may be synchronized.

After the beads have been hardened on the wire, they are then removedtherefrom by drawing the wire so that the beads can be slipped off or bydissolving the wire and a substantially spherical head with a holethrough an axis thereof is obtained. The machine is capable of producingwell-formed beads of uniform diameter without employing skilledoperators.

Although certain specific embodiments of this invention have been shownand described, it will be understood that many modifications thereof arepossible. This invention, therefore, is not to be restricted exceptinsofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of theappended claims. a

We claim:

1. In a. machine for depositing a plurality of spaced beads of viscoushardenable liquid material upon a wire the improved construction whichcomprises a stationary base, a carriage slidably mounted on said basefor movement toward and away from said base, means at one side of saidcarriage adapted to grip and rotate a wire, means at the other side ofsaid carriage adapted to support the wire with an open area between saidtwo sides of the carriage, means for supplying a liquid gob of viscoushardenable material to the wire held between the two sides of saidcarriage when said carriage is at its furthermost point away from saidbase, cam means for moving thecarriage toward and away from said base,means for positively feeding the viscous hardenable material as itisremoved by the wire, and means for simultaneously driving said cammeans and said means for feeding the viscous hardenable material wherebythe wire is always moved by said carriage directly into the centralportion of said liquid gob.

2. In a machine for depositing a plurality of spaced beads of viscoushardenable liquid material upon a wire the improved construction whichcomprises a stationary base, a carriage slidably mounted on said basefor movement toward and away from said base, means at one side of saidcarriage adapted to grip and rotate a wire, means at the other side ofsaid carriage adapted to support the wire with an open area between saidtwo sides of the carriage, means for 9 holding a glass rod so that theend thereof is approximately at the point where the portion of the wireextending between the two sides oi. the carriage passes when saidcarriage is at its furthermost point away from said base. substantiallystationary means for melting the said end of the glass rod, cam meansfor moving the carriage toward and away from said base, means forpositively feeding the glass rod as the glass is removed from the endthereof by said wire and 10 means for simultaneously driving said cammeans and said means for feeding the glass rod whereby the wire isalways moved by said carriage directly into the central portion ofmelted end of the glass rod.

MAXIMILIAN C. MEYER. STANLEY WECHSLER.

l0 anrmmcas errnn The following references are of record in the tile orthis patent: v

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number France July 11, 1927

